Arizona v. Cal Dual Meet 2010

Last week's swimming could have gone better. Though, that being said, our focus since August has been on the NCAAs, coming up in two weeks, and that's how it's going to stay. There were a few decent races though and, when I get my hands on the footage, I'll do my best to upload it here. Before then, I've picked up the video archive of Arizona's historic comeback against California in this year's dual meet. With four events left to go, we found ourselves 40 points behind the hosts. In dual meet terms, that deficit is a mountain.

First, South African Jean Basson churned out a true captain's swim in the 500 Free. After getting trounced by three Cal swimmers in the 1000, he threw caution to the wind and set the ball rolling. Nimrod came in a solid second, touching out the Cal hopeful. (Arizona are in the odd lanes, and always wear the white cap.)

Then, in the biggest upset of the meet, our Fly swimmers went 1-2-3 in the 100, pipping the fading Cal swimmer. Note the panic stricken commentator when reading out the results.

The ball was in our court. Preceding the final two events is a ten minute break - not exactly what we wanted. Momentum played a role, and we knew we had the advantage even though we were still 17 points behind. The organizer's refused to read out the scores, but everyone knew the situation. Next was our strongest event and their weakest, the 400 IM. If we go 1-2-3 in this as well, it would tip the points tally in our favour for the first time in the meet.

And so, the climax of the afternoon. Both teams knew what was at stake, and the etiquette and routine of swim meets had long since gone out the window. Cal now had to 1-2 us in the 4x50 Free Relay to win, and they certainly had the capability, particularly in their trump card, Nathan Adrian, who's fast becoming the second greatest yards sprint freestyler of all time (Behind Cesar Cielo). The Arizona A team goes in lane 3, with your humble servant going third, and Cal's A team go in lane 6.